Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to systems for removing excess ink from ink jet print head nozzles. More particularly, the present invention relates to a system for wiping external ink from nozzle opening of an ink jet print head.
Conventional ink jet printers utilize ink jet print heads to print pixels upon a recording medium. Ink jet print heads contain ink jet nozzles which eject ink droplets onto the recording medium through nozzle openings. Over time, ink collects on or near the ink jet nozzle openings, thereby tending to clog the nozzle openings.
Due to the foregoing, many conventional ink jet printers provide systems for cleaning ink from ink jet nozzles before, during, or after printing. One such system is a wiping system, in which an element is moved across ink jet nozzle openings so as to wipe ink from the openings.
In order to clean the ink jet nozzles most effectively, such wiping cannot occur at normal print speeds. Rather, the print head must move in relation to the wiping element at a speed much slower than normal printing speeds. Accordingly, nozzle wiping slows the printing process.
For example, in conventional wiping systems, an ink jet print head is moved out of a printing area to a wiping station. At the wiping station, a wiping element is moved relative to the ink jet print head so as to wipe the nozzles of the ink jet print head, the wiping element is lowered, and printing resumes. Accordingly, what is needed is a system for quickly and effectively wiping ink jet nozzles.
Ink jet nozzle wiping is more problematic in a case of dual-head ink jet printing. Dual-head ink jet printers utilize two ink jet print heads, each print head having a set of ink jet nozzles. In order to provide wiping of each set of nozzles, some dual head printing systems provide one wiper outside of a printing area. Accordingly, such systems are capable of wiping a first print head and then printing with the first print head while wiping the second print head. It should be noted that due to the slow speed at which wiping must occur, printing by the first print head proceeds much slower than in conventional printing.
Accordingly, what is also needed is a system which provides for simultaneous wiping of two ink jet print heads and which causes minimal printing delays.